AGC Union Contractors Conference Call Set for August 4

AGC of America’s Union Contractors Committee will host its next conference call on August 4 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. The agenda includes updates from AGC staff on recent legal and labor developments and a roundtable discussion for union contractors. Please come prepared to share information and ask questions about collective bargaining and other labor relations activities. Participation is free and open to all AGC-member union contractors, regardless of committee membership. It is not open to AGC nonmembers.

Register for the call here. AGC will send call-in information to all registrants at the same time, one or two business days prior to the call.

New Contractor Requirements Effective After June 30

The following new contractor requirements take effect for state and local public works contracts awarded after June 30, 2016. Exceptions include Build/Operate/Transfer, P3, Design-Build and Construction Manager as Constructor contracts.

A contractor of any tier with 10 or more employees must provide its workers with access to a training program applicable to the tasks performed by those workers. Training can be accomplished through an apprenticeship program offered by Ivy Tech or Vincennes University, a program established by or for the contractor, a program offered by an entity sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (US DOL-BAT), a program that results in the award of an industry recognized portable certification, or a program approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) or INDOT.

A prime or general contractor (G.C.) or a subcontractor, contracting with a prime/G.C., employs 50 or more journeymen, the contractor must also participate in an apprenticeship or training program meeting standards established by or approved by US DOL-BAT, Indiana Department of Labor, FHWA or INDOT.

A contractor in any tier must preserve payroll and related records for three years after completion of the project and make those records open to inspection by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Prime/G.C. and subcontractors, contracting on local public works contracts of $150,000 or more, must now adhere to drug testing requirements that were only applicable on state contracts prior to July 1, 2016.

The new statutes also require public owners to follow new procedures regarding possible contractor violations and in contractor responsibility determinations. For violations involving E-Verify, federal or state minimum wage laws, workers compensation or unemployment compensation, the public agency will be required to refer the matter to the appropriate agency. For other violations involving the new requirements, the public agency shall require the contractor to remedy the violation within 30 days of notification. If the violation continues, the agency shall find the contractor not responsible for up to 48 months. A finding that a contractor is not responsible is subject to judicial review. However, a finding that a contractor is not responsible due to a violation of the new requirements may not be used by another public agency as the basis for finding that contractor not responsible.

Industry reaction to Central States Pension Fund rescue plan refusal

Many ICI members are signatory to Teamsters agreements and contribute to its pension fund. The fund filed to reduce benefits so that it could avoid insolvency, but the U.S. Treasury has refused to accept the rescue plan. Read more from AGC here.

Here is the Department of the Treasury’s letter to Congress.
Here is the Department of the Treasury’s letter to the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Plan.

The Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service recently published its final rule on the Suspension of Benefits Under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014, and it can be found here.